Autism and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - Updates

Learn about Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), their relationship to autism, and hear about the current research in this area.

Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at: https://autism.org/ehlers-danlos-synd...

Emily Casanova, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Neuroscience program and the Department of Psychological Sciences at Loyola University, New Orleans, in the fall of 2022. Throughout her training and early career, Dr. Casanova’s research has been focused on the study of autism from various perspectives, including investigation of its overlap with hereditary connective tissue disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and fragile X premutation, as well as the investigation of major effect autism susceptibility genes and their evolution. Related to the study of autism gene evolution, Dr. Casanova has also been investigating a large group of developmental regulatory genes, their roles in metazoan evolution, and how they relate to evolutionary theories such as Punctuated Equilibria. Dr. Casanova enjoys collecting antiques, traveling to other countries, knitting, collecting fossils, spending time with her family (both the two-legged and furry varieties), and a good strong cuppa tea! She also blogs on Science Over a Cuppa: https://scienceoveracuppa.com

Rosie Head is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin majoring in human development and family sciences with a concentration in early childhood and is currently a clinical intern at The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development. After completing her degree, she will attend graduate school to receive her clinical doctorate in occupational therapy. Rosie received a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome after genetic testing and is passionate about spreading awareness, especially within the ASD community where rates of occurrence seem to be higher than the rest of the population.

00:0 - Intro
3:00 – What is EDS and HSD?
5:00 – Autism and EDS overlap
7:10 – Maternal susceptibility factors
9:30 – Fragile X Syndrome and premutation
12:30 – Nucleotide repeats
15:40 – Joint hypermobility and FXP
19:30 – FXP and EDS/HSD
21:35 – FXS model for EDS and autism
25:15 – Thanks and acknowledgments
27:00 – Shared symptoms
29:00 – Sensory and coordination issues
32:00 – Autonomic and immune system dysfunction
34:30 – Early sign of EDS
39:00 – Early interventions and gaps in care
43:00 – Q &A